Dusk to Dawn
by Small Lady1
Summary: It has been several months since his death. Now Eriol tells Sakura that there is to be a new challenge. Then Syaoran returns. What does it all mean?
1. Default Chapter

A/N: This is a little gruesome and filled with mature matters. You have been warned. I hope you enjoy. ^^ Please r&r! 

As always, CCS isn't mine. But I am going to kidnap Syaoran though! ::hehehehehehe:: You know who it belongs to!

Dusk 

She laid on the floor and was distracted to say the least. She ran her fingers over the wood-grain floor and tested her nails against it to see if her nails would snap off at the pressure. She gave up and glanced up and out the window. Large, glass patio windows lead outside to the lush tropical garden. Late afternoon sunshine poured in and narrowly escaped crossing her face. A yellow coverlet was on the untouched bed. She had preferred the floor. And the rug she was on was deep and plush too. 

She could not believe that she had came here. He offered her something from her solace; which was too good a chance to give up. It was something she could not resist and had given in willingly. Now, she just kept looking out through her faded windows that used to be some color beyond emerald. She did not attend to be with him in this state of mind, but it felt good and released her through some pain she had kept inside.

He walked in and sat down next to her. How he would tell his lover about being with her he did not know. Running his fingers through her hair, she stirred slowly and looked up at his pale complexion and his mystical white hair. 

"How are you feeling?" he asked her gently.

"I am no longer in pain, Yuki-san," she muttered.

He grimaced at her remembering the expression that had gone across her face and the way she had trembled in his arms. He was responsible for taking the last innocence away from her. It had been a great surprise that _he_ had not been with her before then. 

"I am sorry about that. I didn't know. I thought for sure that it had already happen before now. With him..."

She sat up and pulled the sheet up against her bare skin, "Iie. We never had an opportunity arise. He was too much to shy. I was not going to force the issue." 

Yukito noticed the way her eyes lit up for a second as she reminiscence then faded back to that dull luster. She looked away from him and he wanted to pull her against him again. But she probably regretted their actions now. He handed her the cup of green tea he had made. 

She took it and blew at the little wisps of steam that arose from the cup. She realized through her haze that he was probably trying to cheer her up. She looked up at his worried expression, forcing a smile. There, maybe he would not be hurt when she got up and left abruptly. 

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Two hours later, he had settled in to one of his and onii-chan's chairs and was leafing through a book when she sneaked out the backdoor. Hopefully her onii-chan would not find out about this encounter between them. He would be hurt deeply by their betrayal and today she did not fell like facing a wrathful onii-chan.

She glanced both ways and crossed the street. She did not need to really look because she could sense things like that now out of sheer habit. The park was close by and she somehow wander into it and ended up sitting on one of the desolate swings. The laughing children had been carried home by their mothers hours ago. 

She looked up as if in a dream and it dawned on her where she had come to unconsciously. She noted the swing she sat in and recalled this had been where she had run to all those years ago. His sad smile as he listened to her and pulled her into his arms. She cried passionately and was a little fool not to realize he loved her himself. Today she had been with the one she had cried over into Syaoran-kun's arms over. Yet, it was not something the Sakura of yesteryear would have envisioned. 

"Oh...Syaoran-kun, I wish you were still here. I did not mean to do what I did today. I was lonely and Yuki-san's eyes said it was okay. I have betrayed you both. You and Onii-chan's...," she began to cry again. This time however no arms were going to envelope her and soothe her in a luxurious false comfort. She had tried to find that with Yuki-san and it had failed.

She sat there for a long time not hearing the old schoolyard bell call out the hours to her one by one. When she finally stumbled home it was long past midnight and she fell into bed silently. Dreams would come to her and her false maidenhood. 

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_He had smiled up at her and she felt her face flush. Those chocolaty amber eyes were calling her. He was happy and it was all she could do not to throw herself into his arms. He reached out cautiously and pulled her into his arms._

O...yes...he smelt like chocolate, cinnamon, spices, and that unearthly, unattainable manly smell that made him Syaoran-kun. She could have died then and there as he pressed his lips softly against her face. 

"Sakura-chan, I love you. More than I could ever tell you how much..."

She writhed in his arms and pulled herself back just a heartbeat, "Syaoran-kun, I love you," she was broken off as his mouth tenderly came upon hers.

She felt her left hand being lifted gently and with a smooth motion she felt a cool ringlet slipped down on her sacred finger. She looked up and stared into his eyes with a question.

"Sakura, marry me," he said huskily, purposely leaving off the distance spanning '-chan'. 

Her arms were about him like that as she tried to pull herself closer to his heart beating under his thick chest wall. It was perfect as his arms encircled her waist. She stood on tiptoe and whispered the answer. The only answer he ever wanted to hear. 

"Yes. Why even ask? I can't live without you anymore," she whispered."

She heard his intake of breath and the heat on her face told her he was blushing. Then she heard a bang...

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Sakura sat up suddenly. It was only a dream. Only a dream. She tried to calm herself. Yes, that was a dream but it was the memory of the happiest and saddest day of her life. She clung to the bed sheets. Her nails were drawing blood at her palms. She winced slightly when she looked down and saw the blood streaking down her pale wrist. It was like a sign to her. A way out of her pain.

She went to her bath and drew it. Warm and steamy. She liked it that way. She debated over pouring in some bubble bath. No use in pushing it. She slipped on a robe over her semi-transparent gown and walked down the hallway of her small, lonely apartment. 

Dialing the number she had not bothered to call in months came easily.

"Moshi moshi," came the sleep reply. She almost caught herself smiling at the thought of her former best friend answering.

"Hi."

Tomoyo eyes shot open and she stared at the receiver in disbelief. It could not be her Sakura-chan. No. Sakura had not bothered to call in months. 

"Sakura-chan?" her voice cracked even as she tried to control it. 

"Tomoyo-chan... I just wanted to call you now. I am sorry for everything."

"Oh, Sakura-chan! Please don't be! I am just so happy. Truly happy you called me. It has been so long since we last spoke."

"I know. I just am sorry you are going to be the last one to hear my voice."

"What are you saying? Please, Sakura! What are you thinking?" Tomoyo's voice has risen. Eriol sat up next to his bride.

"What is it? What is happening with her?" he asked as he fumbled for his glasses.

Tomoyo did not answer but sprang up and began to rift through her drawers and closet and flung on clothes and she continued to talk to Sakura. 

"Please stay right there! Don't do anything till I get there. Promise me that for old time's sake, Sakura!" she was sobbing desperately into the receiver now. 

Eriol was out of bed and was throwing on clothes as fast as he could also. The Card Mistress was beyond distressed and Sakura needed them both. He grabbed Tomoyo by the wrist and hurried her out the door to the car.

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Sakura sat on the side of the tub. It was a western style bathtub. She had liked the design and bought it for herself. She had been planning to bring Syaoran here. It was roomy and large enough for two people. 

The silver knife laid on the floor where she had flung it fitfully. It's use was not good enough for this one. She sat there with his sword unsheathed on her lap. It still gleamed as ever. He had been the last one to touch it. It had been in her closet wrapped in velvet just moments before. 

Her eyes blanked out as she recalled it clanging to the ground. 

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_"Syaoran? Syaoran? What is wrong? Oh, my God! Someone help!" she screamed hoarsely as he went limp in her arms._

His head lolled upon her breast as she saw the crimson blood seeping through his hair. She went to her knees and held him close to her. 

"Oh, Syaoran... please! You can't leave me now! Not this way," she sobbed as it hit home what was happening.  


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They took his body out of her arms. Forcibly. She was on her knees in the sidewalk and the rain was pouring down on her. She did not recall the rain. Just the way her clothes stuck to her as Tomoyo and Onii-chan dragged her to her feet. The blood on the pavement. On her. Everywhere. And the ring glistened like his sword still. At the edges of the emerald there was a burgundy stain. His blood that had dripped down on it as she pressed her hand at the wound. 

She took her own hand and ran her fingers along the sword's edge. A split second of anguish made her clench her teeth as she split her skin on it. She let the blood course down on to the ring. Their blood was joined. Forever.

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Tomoyo and Eriol ran into her apartment. Tomoyo caught her breath in the doorway to the bathroom. 

"Sakura-chan..." her voice trembled. 

Sakura lifted her head slightly. The pass of a smile upon her lips. Her lavender robe was soaked because Sakura had slipped down into the tub and was sitting in it sideways. Her legs dangled off the side. The water was up to her elbows.

Tomoyo fell to her knees. She crawled across the floor. She noted the slender knife under the pedestal sink. Luckily no traces were on it. Syaoran-kun's sword was next to the tub where Sakura had dropped it in her flashback anguish. Eriol leaned in the doorway and kept a placid face.

"Sakura-chan... what are you doing?"

"Oh, Tomoyo-chan. I just remembered it all over again," her voice was weak with the shock of emotions. 

"Remembered what?"

"That night at the park. He pulled me close. He smelt so good. Chocolate. Cinnamon. Spices. And all Syaoran-kun. It was heavenly."

Tomoyo nodded as Sakura rolled her head back, dreamlike, on the bathroom wall.

"Then he asked me to marry him. O... the best thing ever to happen to me. It was everything I ever wanted. So happy... Then the blood was seeping down his face. It was everywhere. Did you know the sidewalk is still stained? I saw it today. . ."

"Did they ever find out why?"

"Oh, I got a letter sometime back. Some sort of condolence. A random shooting. He just happened to be in the way. All because of me. He was proposing and holding on to me. Such love making in the park with just his words and our hearts beating together in time."

Tomoyo reached her hand carefully into the bath water. It was oily. She noted a spilt bottle of bath oil. She ran her hand through it till her hand met Sakura's.

"Sakura-chan, I know it still hurts. Please don't do this. I am here. Like I have always been."

Sakura's hand tightened over Tomoyo's, "I know that. You were always with me. Do you know what I did today?"

Tomoyo shook her hand in mild confusion.

"I went over to Onii-chan's and Yuki-san's place. Onii-chan wasn't home. But Yuki-san was. We did something that Syaoran-kun and I never got a chance to. I was lonely. And it was lovely for awhile. He even turned into Yue-san for a brief while. Do you know how angel wings feel against bare skin?"

Eriol had now moved to Tomoyo's side. 

"You slept with him?" Eriol asked her gently. 

"Yes. I did not go there for that though. But I was so lonely. And it was nice at first... But now I can't ever face Syaoran-kun again."

Tomoyo whispered to her, "Sakura-chan. I am sure Syaoran-kun would not mind. He knows you are lonely and upset. But how are you going to explain it to your onii-chan?"

Sakura smiled almost sleepily. 

"I don't think he'll ever know. Are you going to tell him? Tomoyo-chan? Eriol-kun?" she added realizing he was there also. 

"No, Sakura-chan. We won't."

"That is so nice of you. Aragato."

Tomoyo leaned forward and did not notice her long ash-dusk purple hair trailing into the tub. She pulled Sakura into her embrace and then saw it.

"Sakura-chan? What is this?" She pulled Sakura's wrist up.

Eriol observed the dried blood crisscrossing Sakura's arms. 

"My blood. I cut myself earlier...," her voice trailed off in exhaustion.

Eriol and Tomoyo pulled her up out of the tub as she dripped with tears and bathwater. Sakura cried when she saw Syaoran's sword. Blood lacerated it. As she was carried away by Eriol, her blood dripped slowly from the slashes in her wrist onto his sword and from the silver band on her finger...

A/N: I know this one is sad and anguished filled. I hope it isn't that bad. I just was struck with wanting to write something sad and sorrowful. Replies would be greatly appreciated. 

I know Sakura isn't often portrayed as suicidal, but how would she be if something drastic did happen to Syaoran? 

Thanks for reading. ^^


	2. Dusk 2

Well, due to several requests and inquires, I decided to try and write a follow up to Dusk. Would this make this chapter two then? O.o If that is the case, I guess you would call this Dusk, chapter two. ^^ I am trying here. Hopefully, I am staying with the original story plot I had. Not so gruesome and outlandish. Oh, and they are like in their early twenties I am guessing here. 

You know the drill. CLAMP owns Sakura and crew. But Syaoran shall be mine! Mwhahahahha. Anyways...

Dusk, Chapter Two 

She stood on the hillside overlooking the city. The usual hustle and bustle of the world faded away up here. The ocean glimmered on the horizon and it seemed to wink back at her. She found no happiness or joy in the sight. Pain was all that she felt. Today she felt numb and she stared blankly over the towering buildings that seemed like children's carelessly strewn toys. The wind rippled through her hair and she sighed gingerly and turned to look at what she had came up here for. 

It had been months and months since the funeral. The therapists had told her she must go on and that since she was so young she would find a new reason to live soon enough. But she felt only the emptiness that came from one who had barren her heart from her soul. 

She knelt on her knelt on the ground in front of the tombstone. There had been a great argument between Sakura's friends and the Li clan over where he should be buried. Mrs. Li had swept in with her classic style of a woman who got what she wanted; to take him home to Hong Kong to be buried with the family. Sakura's hand had flashed silver and emerald in the late afternoon sun that she arrived, and Syaoran's mother knew what had trespassed here between her son and the girl. The dishevel of disagreements had ended when she pulled Sakura into her arms and they cried together. Mrs. Li had four daughters to help her with the sorrow and grief, but Sakura was alone. She was absolute in her pain and burden and could not be reached. So, Mrs. Li had left two days later after the funeral on the hill with some of his belongings. Sakura had been left his sword and the ring. A few items the two had bought together were left to her too. Yet, his green costume he had worn in those long ago battles had returned to Hong Kong. 

Her fingers traced lightly his name engraved on the cold, dull, lifeless stone that failed to capture all that he was to her. The slab of marble carried nothing but his name and the two dates that outlined his existence. Sakura had painstakingly made an engraved plate that she laid under the stone's shadow that read simply: 

I love you now. I love you tomorrow. I love you as far as our souls are destined to reach and I shall transcend time and life if it is to be by your side. You are loved by Sakura still. 

A simple enough declaration of her devotion to him. But it spoke leagues to her and gave her something to hold him still with her. A way for her to defy the cruel fates and prove that she would love him no matter how long it took. 

The chill of his name under her caressing fingertips and the words upon her trembling lips frightened her as tears filled her eyes. She jumped up and almost tumbled backwards down the hill in her haste. The weeping willow tree, so accurately placed, gave her support as she stumbled to it and flung her arms about its cool trunk. Face pressed against the bark and the rustle of the whispering branches gave her a silent peace that she struggled with. Nails embedded into the tree's skin as she sobbed herself out. Not again. Not another vision of him and the tragedies of that night again. She gasped in choking cries and clung on for dear life. The real fear of collapsing was in the taste of the wind as it swirled the branches about her in an ageless song she never knew. 

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Tomoyo had bandaged the slits that went through her dear Sakura-chan's pale wrists. Sakura had been out of it. Drunk on her own sorrow she never noticed when she had been carried out of her apartment and took to Tomoyo's sanctuary. Eriol had been draped in silence as the girl's blood was strung out over the covers of the backseat. Tomoyo's face had been a witness of tears that flowed in rivulets in her distress. Yet, Tomoyo dared not to inform Sakura of the pain she had seen in Sakura's eyes that night. 

Everyday Sakura went through her life in a hopeless state. She was burnt out on the inside and no amount of comfort from an ever anxious Kero-chan could induce a slice of a smile on her lips. She was as well as dead for all the ghost of a girl she had been months ago when he was still alive and in her arms. They had been drowning in love that sprang from the purest fountain of childhood friendship. So clear and innocent had her eyes been then as she smiled and kissed his lips and then turned laughing to her best friend. 

Tomoyo sighed and folded some more sheets that were in Sakura's room. She was determined that Sakura-chan would stay here with them as long as it took for her to return. With a slight sad frown, she thought unconsciously, _what if she never does? _Tomoyo shook her hear furiously. There was no way she was going to lose her precious to death. But Sakura had lost her precious to death's grimness. Did that bespeak ill tides? She clutched at the sheets on the bed and her head tilted forward in sadness. Her story violet eyes were hidden from sight when Eriol walked in the room. 

"Tomoyo-chan...," he whispered to her. 

She looked up at him and she forced her face to be expressionless. The effort was loss on Eriol who knew her too well for her own comfort, "I know. I am just trying to keep everything normal as possible for her. If she does not have to worry or look after her own physical needs, I am sure she will return sooner."

"But what if she doesn't? Will you spend your entire life trying to hold her together?"

"If that is what it takes, Eriol-kun."

"What does that say for your husband? And the...," his voice fading out.

"I will take care of that too. Do not worry. I just need to be here for Sakura-chan. She needs us all the most right now."

Eriol smiled at his bride and sat down next to her. He understood her. Tomoyo was still in love with Sakura. But when Li-kun had came back from Hong Kong, Tomoyo had needed someone too. Sakura-chan and Li-kun had been inseparable since the day he met her on the path to school. In love like only soulmates could be, Tomoyo had been on the outside though Sakura still was there. The beautiful girl with hair like a powder dusk and starry eyes of night had been truly alone, he had found that she might not be the only one. 

His fingers traced her hand. Her fingers relaxed and he took the opportunity to slip his hand in hers and kissed the ivory skin. She smiled up at him a little sadly. Sometimes tenderness and caring overtook love. She was satisfied with her life. A new day and dawn was on the verge of the foreign horizon and she could feel it.

"Are you going to tell her?" Eriol asked. His voice dropped to a subtle soothing tone that wrinkled with hidden humor.

"Maybe. I suppose I should. I am just not sure how she will take it. I want her to find happiness too."

"Are you saying you are happy?"

Tomoyo smiled at him and smacked his arm playfully, "What do you think?" 

She tilted her face up for a kiss. Eriol smirked to himself and the echoes of long ago of being called a hentai from his cute little descendant. A shadow of a frown crossed his eyes but Tomoyo, eyes closed, never saw it as they indulged. His fingers lightly brushed across the fabric of her dress over her stomach. Yes, Tomoyo would have something else beyond Sakura to think about shortly.

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The sun was just on the edge of the bowl of sky. Soon the lady of night would sweep across the heavens and with her gown trailing, cover the firmament of blue. 

Sakura never noticed this as she stared absently at the flirting ocean in the distance. She had sobbed herself out for the time being. There was always tomorrow to do that in. Her future was now bleak and filled with tears, that would lead her to him again. 

Her fingers curled over some grass and she kneaded it occasionally in a broken rhythm. Her back was pressed against the tree's firmness. While she appeared lifeless and not there, her mind was whirling as she though up new plans for her life. 

Her dreams of being married and having Syaoran's children was blotted out permanently. She prayed feverishly that reincarnation existed so that she could be with him again in the next life. That thought sent out the worry what would happen if he was reborn in her lifetime? Would they spend eternity just chasing each other senselessly? 

All the thoughts of eternity and soulmates failed to comfort her. She held her hands up to her face in the fading light. They were bandaged by Tomoyo's faithfulness to her. She wanted to smile, but the sadness inside her kept her from doing so. She carefully slipped them off and looked at the pale white scars. How did they seem to dance across her skin? An endless waltz carved in flesh. 

She felt rather than saw a glimmer of pink shadows dance around her. They were there again for her. She had neglected them, she admitted inside. What a terrible mistress she was. Eriol-kun had created some spell or something and had been using that to keep the cards under control and keep their energy up. She had been too devastated to have spared the energy for them. Just grief. 

They circled about her and she touched each in turn smoothly. These cards were apart of her. They were her friends. They had supported and chosen her for their mistress. They loved her. She felt her bond to them as they gathered and landed peacefully into her outstretched hand. She shuffled through them and whispered their names in turn. 

Windy... her first and most trusted ally. Woody... helped her defeat the earth card. She wrinkled her nose as she recalled the pain of forgetting that Yue-san had threatened her with. The expression on his face when she walked into the courtyard after the final judgment. She had won and was the righteous owner of the cards. Then all the times he helped her in past battles. The first time he hugged her. In his arms in the showdown with Eriol-kun. His abrupt confession. She smiled for the first time in recalling the look in his eyes when he had intervened her on the path to school that one blissful morning. He was her world and all happiness and dreams steamed from him and what he meant to her. But her life was marching on still. She still awoke every morning and breathed the air. 

She managed to stand up. Thoughtless she called forth a chant that lended her a key to power. She grasped the weight of the staff. 

"Yes...," she hissed in slight pleasure as she twirled it in perfect sync. She always could spin this wand about without the bruises she used to get from cheerleading baton. 

Spring would come shortly. A year had been passing before her eyes. She tossed the chosen card without looking at it. If she could not see the real thing, she would see the mirror image of what she desired so much.

"Syaoran...," she muttered as she flung herself into the arms of the illusion. 

He was just the way she always recalled. That is how she knew inside that it was a brief lie she was coddling in. But the same scent of his skin. His warmth. Yes, he was her imagination playing with her. She rather wanted to enjoy her little fantasy so she paid no heed and let herself slip into the falsified comfort. The tears still slipped from the emerald globes though. . . 


	3. Dusk 2

Hello, again! Well, here is the third chapter. I hope you like the third chapter. I am trying very hard to make this interesting! A little bit of the angst quality is toned down. Now, we have the story starting to get a little somewhere. I got a feeling I am going to be getting over my head here... Oh, and sorry about the triple posting of chapter 2. Darn computer...

Disclaimer: Standard yadda yadda. You know the drill. 

Dusk to Dawn: Chapter 3

Waking Up

Sakura followed her best friend through the busy snow-filled streets. Tomoyo was chatting away lively to her best friend about her hopes for her yet-to-be-born child. This was the most fun she had had in a long time with her best friend. Sakura had pushed away her own suffering to be happy for Tomoyo. Now the two were tripping gaily down the streets. A line of female bodyguards were there to protect Sonomi's two greatest joys. The two were so used to them that they did not notice their ever watchful gazes. 

Tomoyo had stopped in her tracks to peer at somebody she thought she recognized. Sakura was carrying her own bag wistfully waiting for Tomoyo to go on with what she was saying. She blew through her bangs. Her reflection caught her attention and she turned to look in a store's window. 

The snowflakes were drifting gently through the air. In Tomoyo's dark hair they were like stars in heaven. In Sakura's they were like frozen tears. Sakura pushed the thought away and made herself smile at herself. A dimple she never noticed became present in her right cheek and she laughed at her mirror image. She covered her mouth with one daintily gloved hand. With her eyes closing in her usual fashion when she smiled or laughed, she froze when she thought she saw a familiar white shadow. Her pretty laugh was spoiled as she turned to stare in the same direction Tomoyo had.

"Tomoyo...did you just see someone...?" Sakura asked sharply. 

"I...I don't know. I thought I just someone right now, myself."

"It looked like..."

"Syaoran-kun, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked puzzled as she looked up at her best friend. 

Sakura held her fists clenched. Her eyes were narrowed as she stared out into the falling white curtains. "No...it couldn't be," she whispered. 

"Then who?"

"We...must be seeing stuff, Tomoyo-chan. Uh, let's go finish finding the material you need for that new dress," she said lamely, trying to push a thousand thoughts out of her head. Sakura led her friend away from the edge of the sidewalk carefully. Yet, while she charaded an air of intent listening to Tomoyo-chan, her eyes were watching for any more shadows. 

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Tomoyo sat on her bed with yards of new violet dusk material on her lap. She was tracing the edges of the fabric with one hand. Her other ivory hand laid on her bulging stomach. She was absently sweeping her hand back and forth in a steady ancient rhythm. Every now and then she would stretch her bare toes out in response to the baby's shifting motions. 

Sakura laid outstretched next to her watching Tomoyo's hand's movements. She wore a bittersweet smile. She was bursting with happiness for her two closest friends. Who knew that the two opposites would marry and now be expecting their first child?

"Tomoyo-chan...what is it like?"

Tomoyo looked up surprised at the sudden question. "What is like?"

"You know, expecting a baby. How does it feel? I was just wondering..." her voice trailing off wistfully. 

"Oh! It is so wonderful! It is so very strange and different! Yet, it is very deja vu-ish. I really can't describe it. Beautiful maybe?" Tomoyo's eyes lit up as she talked of the unborn child in her womb.

"I don't think I fully understand, Tomoyo-chan. When the baby moves, what is that like?" 

"Like being tickled from the inside," she smirked suddenly at a new thought. Sakura was too innocent to comprehend it. 

"Another heartbeat beating in time with yours from the inside..." Sakura mumbled in a distant voice. 

"Nani?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking aloud to myself," Sakura brushed off quickly. Tomoyo tilted her head to the side at the putting off.

"No, really. What is it, Sakura-chan?"

"I just keep thinking of how it would have been," her words trembling thoughtfully then a forced laugh and smile, "Never mind me though! How is this material to be used, Tomoyo-chan?" Tomoyo squinted her eyes at her Sakura-chan but decided to let Sakura be for now.

"I was thinking of making a new costume."

"A costume? What do you mean? For who?"

"You, silly," her eyes crinkling in laughter at the shocked face.

"Me? Why me? I have no need for one."

A third voice joined the conversation, "You never know when trouble is going to follow you, Sakura-chan. You wield powerful magic and there will always be new opposition for it. A new rival could show up any day to change the path your life is taking."

"Rival? Change the path my life is taking..."

Eriol smiled his charming mask of a smile. Yes, this new challenge that he was sensing might just give Sakura something to worry over. He kissed Sakura's hand while she stared dazedly at the material that Tomoyo was now folding serenely. She knew and had seen the same images that her husband had. Her Sakura-chan would find happiness again she was sure of it. 

__

"Sakura-chan isn't the type to stay depressed and sad forever, Li-kun. She isn't like that. You must tell her how you feel..."

"Daidouji -chan..."

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Sakura brushed her hair out and turned to look into the mirror. Sighing, she traced her reflection with her fingertips. She was denying to herself that she may have seen him. But then again, Tomoyo-chan had thought she had seen him too. It was so very confusing to her. 

"Oh, well. I might as well get some sleep," she mumbled at her reflection. 

"Yes, you should," said a voice from her shoulder. 

"Kero-chan! Where have you been?" she questioned the golden magical beast. 

"Uh...nothing!" he stuttered at her suspicious gaze.

"That would explain the crumbs on your mouth..."

"Cough! Anyways... Did you have fun today shopping with Tomoyo-chan?"

Sakura nodded at him then glanced in the mirror again. 

"Why do you keep staring in the mirror and sighing, Sakura-chan?"

"Eriol said it isn't over. Well, not exactly. Tomoyo-chan bought new material today for a new costume for me."

"New costume? But the cards have all been captured. The Hope was the last one."

"I know. Let me think. He said, 'You never know when trouble is going to follow you, Sakura-chan. You wield powerful magic and there will always be new opposition for it. A new rival could show up any day to change the path your life is taking.' What is that suppose to mean, Kero-chan?"

"A new rival? Hmm... Clow Reed said something once about that whoever held the cards would surely be pursed forever for the right to possess the power they carry."

"Just what I need... more enemies."

"What you need is...," he left off what she needed. Sakura looked up at him curiously, "Never mind, Sakura-chan. Let's go to bed. I'm stuffed!"

"Ah ha! I knew you were raiding Tomoyo's kitchen!" Sakura cried out victoriously and then grabbed Kero by the tail and dragged him to bed. 

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A shadow watched the petite Mistress of the Cards climb into bed. It sighed and placed its hand firmly against the tree it stood in. A hand slid through messy hair and a small sigh escaped the lips. 

"What she really needs is a beautiful distraction," it whispered to the night. 

It stood where it was and bit its lip sadly. No, it was not the time to let know. With a bow of its head, and a magical chant in a foreign language, it disappeared into the night. 

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Eriol carried breakfast in bed upstairs to his wife. With a slight push of the door with his foot, he entered the room to find her still asleep. 

Her dusky purple hair fell in curls all over the pillows and she held one hand under her ivory cheek. The other one, slid from the ruffles of her lacy sleeve and rested on her stomach protectively. He smiled to himself, pleased at her. 

She did not love him. He did not love her either. At times though, he felt he might be falling for her when she laughed happily and followed her beloved Sakura-chan around with her ever faithful video camera. He smiled at the lovely vision she made there in their bed. Even in her sleep, she was thinking and caring about the child that was theirs. Love was not necessary to make them happy. Just a consensual agreement so neither of them would ever be lonely. 

He sat down the tray next to her on a table. His hand swept away a curl on her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him. 

"Ohayo, Eriol-kun," she muttered sleepily. 

"Ohayo, Tomoyo-chan. Would you like some breakfast in bed?"

Tomoyo had a little difficulty in pulling herself up into a sitting position. Eriol's hands slid down to her sides and helped her. She smiled up at him sweetly. He was good to her. He would make an excellent father in a few months. She reached for a brush she could not reach and he handed it to her.

"Domo. Just wait a minute please. I want to work these tangles out of my hair so I won't look so bad."

"You are very beautiful, Tomoyo-chan. You don't need to brush your hair."

"Sweet talker," she accused as she dropped one finger on the tip of his nose. 

He smiled at her and got up and pushed a small table to her side of the bed. He placed his own chair on the other side and set the heavily laden tray on it. 

"I hope you are hungry this morning. Hopefully, you won't be having any case of morning sickness again."

"Iie. I feel fine. I think I have gotten past that point. Seeing that this is what the, o, sixth month? I didn't exactly get here on my own anyways. I had a little help you know."

"From yours truly," he teased her, kissing her cheek. 

Tomoyo smiled at the tender gesture, "Mmm... from what I read though about the delivery, I don't think I'll let you come near me after that."

He laughed, "You know, pregnancy suits you so well. Maybe you oughta stay in this condition a few more times. " She blushed at his words.

"Hentai! You just like how I got this way! And whoever said, I'd give you that pleasure again?"

He chuckled down at her. With a sweeping motion, he stepped around the table and pulled her into his arms. She muffled a small cry into his shoulder as he kissed her throat. 

"Eriol-kun...," she drawled out.

"Hmm?"

"What about breakfast?"

"Never mind that n--," he was interrupted from a slight gasp on her part. "What is it?" he asked a little shaken up. 

"The ....the baby!"  


"What about it???" he asked a little shaken up. 

Her hands covered one of his and drew them to rest on top of her stomach. She smiled up at him with her eyes twinkling.

"Is that...?"

"Yes, the baby..."

"Well, I guess he wants to eat breakfast then."

"He?" she asked as she raised one eyebrow quislingly. 

"Uh...just guessing," he smiled down at her. He took the opportunity to kiss her delicious mouth and then pressed a bowl of rice into her hands. 

"Domo, Eriol-kun," she whispered as she took the chopsticks to her lips. 

**********************************************************************************

Kero sat on Sakura's vanity table. He was keeping yet another late night vigil on her. He was still worried over her mental and emotional state. He would just have to have to try harder. Then there was the unsettling announcement Eriol had told Sakura tonight. Kero scrunched his eyes shut and tuned into the magical world. If there was anything to harm his Mistress, he would sense it before she did. 

He looked around in the still night of Tomodoea. He thought he felt a flicker of something resist him. Then it went out like a candle being snuffed out. He sharpened his senses there, but it was gone. Hmm...well, maybe it had been earth magic. He then opened himself to check the area surrounding. No... nothing was coming up. 

He opened his eyes and sighed. Nothing to help her. He flew off the table and fluttered down to land on her pillow. She sometimes cried at night. Her tears would slid down her cheeks and her hushed sobs would shake the bed as she cried again into the night. He passed his paw over her cheek. Her lashes fluttered at his touch. Kero smiled. Even in sleep, she was aware of the bond Mistress and guardian shared. He plopped down next to her face and curled under her chin. A soft sigh escaped Sakura's lips as she muttered out a lost word with the implications of her dead lover. 

**********************************************************************************

He jerked awake. He was in a room. A small tiny room and only a gentle breathing spoiled the silence. Yet, he felt like it was the only sound he would ever hear. He sat up and pressed his the back of his palms against his eyes. Showers of stars appeared behind his lids but he ignored them as he concentrated on sensing where he was. 

He knew this feeling. It was everything to him. The soft feminine aura that reached out hungrily to his. He felt invisible hands caress his side. He let himself open his eyes and look to where those hands were working on his tired, aching muscles. 

A soft breeze stirred the air as yet another happy sigh escaped the dainty closed lips. She was dreaming. He could tell. How he ended up here, next to her, he could not tell. But he was not going to question it. Her mind whispered to his...

__

"Where have you been?" she asked child-like. He could about see her looking up at him with those emerald orbs. 

"What do you mean?"

"It has been so long since then. Closer to a year than you know."

"Since what? What are you saying, Sakura?" he asked her urgently. Her mind voice was fading away. He gave a slight gasp as images from her memory flowed into his mind. 

She was sobbing violently. Tomoyo kept pressing handkerchiefs into her hands. She was returning them to Tomoyo-chan just about as fast as Tomoyo could hand them to her. Her shoulders were shaking her small frame violently. Every breath was haggard and wrenched from her being like her own life being drawn away. 

"Sakura-chan...," Tomoyo whispered to Sakura. Sakura calmed down just enough to look up through a veil of tears. 

"How could he....how?" her shrill scream fell apart as her voice broke. 

Tomoyo stepped forward and pulled her best friend into her arms, "Sakura-chan, he did not mean to. You must calm down. Please! You'll hurt yourself if you don't stop this!"

"What do I have to live for now, Tomoyo-chan? He is everything to me! Everything! And he left me..."

Sakura's eyes slid to a casket. With unsteady steps she stepped forward and pushed open the top half. Her hands slid in first. His eyes were drawn to her left hand. The ring! She was wearing his ring! Why was she opening a casket though? _Then with a heave she forced the lid all the way up into a sitting position._

His own face was staring blankly up at Sakura. His eyes shut and his mouth set. His eyebrows still had managed to work themselves into a scowl. He looked so angry even in death... 

He jerked his thoughts away from those. No! Was it a vision of the future? He could not believe it. There was no way this could happen. Then again, the pain he was receiving was very fresh. It was bitter and he could taste the bile in his own mouth as he once again had a flash of laying in that casket. There was no way... he could not be seeing the past, could he?

__

A soft muttering drew his attention. Her mind voice was so heavy with sleep and pain at this point he could not understand her. So he turned to her, hoping to get some answers from the sleeping Mistress of the Cards. 

Her eyes were shut softly and her bottom lip was trembling slightly. One second her hands were relaxed with one pale star press against her cheek. Next second she was clawing at her sheets and her mouth drew wide in a silent scream. He watched the tears rush from her eyes and dampen the loose strands of hair about her face. 

His heart twisted and he reached out to her. He had to calm her down. He watched in horror as his hand went through her. He could feel her body heat take a drop where his hand went through. He pulled it away hurriedly. 

"Sakura...," the name tumbled from his lips as he called out to her. Yet, she did not open her spring green eyes to his searching.

"I'm dead, aren't I, Sakura?"

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Well, I hope chapter three makes some sense. It doesn't make any sense to me. But I am trying to build a plot up here! I need some ideas though. I really need an idea for plot. Domo! Remember I'm only writing because it has been requested!

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